A great bicycle race is truly timeless, and the one-day Classics even more so. Each new edition of the race brings new contenders and old favorites together to test their strength, skill, and wits against each other and against the challenge of the race itself. Paris-Roubaix, known as the "Queen of the Classics" for its long and star-studded history, and as the "Hell of the North" for its brutally difficult cobbled course through northern France, is one of the most famous of the Classics, and justly so.

With its new "Remastered Classics" series, World Cycling Productions brings to DVD some of the best of these Classics. The first release is the 1992 and 1993 editions of Paris-Roubaix: two great races that are a must-have for any fan of the Classics, and worth a serious look as well for any viewer who's intrigued by bicycle racing but hasn't started a collection yet.

Each race is given approximately an hour and a half of coverage, which allows for a nicely complete look at the action that's also fairly fast-paced.

1992 Paris-Roubaix: The Great Escape

The star of the 1992 Paris-Roubaix race is undeniably the popular favorite Gilbert Duclos-Lassalle, known affectionately as "Mr. Paris-Roubaix" for his many years of tackling this great race, always finishing high up in the classification but never managing to snatch a win. In 1992, riding for the "Z" team with U.S. rider Greg LeMond as a strong teammate (and potential winner if Duclos fell short), Duclos is ready to make one more bid for victory in his usual aggressive style.

One of the great things about watching the 1992 Paris-Roubaix is that we get a chance to see some of the great champions of earlier years. It's a real pleasure to get to see Gilbert Duclos-Lassalle, whose long love affair with the Queen of the Classics takes place mostly in years that aren't covered by WCP's programs. For viewers who've followed the Spring Classics over the years, it's also great fun to spot the yet-unknown riders who will become the stars of the later 1990s and 2000s, like Andrea Tafi and Franco Ballerini.

The race itself is solidly entertaining. Several attempts at breakaways are made, with varying degrees of success; the main excitement comes when Duclos-Lassalle makes a brilliant solo play for the victory that, despite 14 starts in this race, had always eluded him. For a while, it seems like the race would stall out in terms of excitement for the viewer, with the teams who had riders in the breakaway working hard to keep the peloton under wraps, but fortunately for our entertainment, it doesn't stay contained for long. We get a chase down of Duclos-Lassalle which keeps us in suspense as to who will be the final winner, as the race's finish line in Roubaix draws nearer and nearer.

1993 Paris-Roubaix: The Gift of Experience

1992's edition of the Queen of the Classics was excellent; 1993's is positively outstanding, and definitely goes on the books as one of the classic runnings of this Spring Classic race. It takes place on a dry, clear day, and the absence of the mud that's considered a hallmark of Paris-Roubaix makes for a fast-paced race with lots of aggressive moves and countermoves.

The action is intense for the entire hour and a half of coverage: the earlier part of the coverage features several breakaway moves by ambitious riders, forcing the favorites to push hard to stay in the race. Johan Museeuw, wearing the jersey of the Belgian National Champion, is a key player along with his terrific teammate, Franco Ballerini; last year's winner, Gilbert Duclos-Lassalle, is the French favorite to pull off a repeat win, but the question is, does he have the form to do it?

The race heats up as the final kilometers start closing in, culminating in a brilliant one-on-one battle between Ballerini and Duclos-Lassalle. It's the talented and strong young rider versus "Mr. Paris-Roubaix," the oldest man in the race at 38 years old, and with 14 rides to Roubaix under his belt, and it's a fantastic display of tactics as the two riders play cat-and-mouse all the way to the finish line. I won't spill the beans as to who comes out first, but let's just say that this is one of the most memorable Paris-Roubaix finishes in the race's long history.

Phil Liggett provides commentary for the race, starting with a useful summary of the action of the first half of the race before picking up the "live" action. While the favorites aren't explicitly introduced, Liggett's overview does provide a useful who's who of the key players in the race.

The DVD

It's worth noting that the product image on WCP's web site is not what this DVD set actually looks like. The 1992 & 1993 Paris-Roubaix is a two-DVD set. The two races are packaged in a slim single-wide keepcase, with each race having its own DVD. The cover and disc art is very attractive, and the cover has been completely re-designed from the VHS cover art. The front cover is relatively spoiler-free, and the discs themselves are charmingly printed with a cobblestone pattern. The only flaw in the presentation is that, bizarrely, Duclos-Lassalle's name is misspelled on the back cover.

Video

The 1992/1993 Paris-Roubaix DVDs are part of the "Remastered Classics" series, and have benefited greatly from the attention paid to them for the DVD transfer. The image quality for both races is excellent. Colors are bright, vivid, and clean, and also very natural-looking; both the bold colors of the team jerseys and the greens and golds of the French landscape look correct.

The image is very clean and free of dirt or print flaws; the picture does look a bit soft, but that's really no surprise considering that we're dealing with live television broadcasts here. There's also none of the bleeding or smearing that was an issue in the earlier VHS version. Overall, the races look significantly than they did on VHS, so even if you already own the 1992 and 1993 Paris-Roubaix races on videotape, it's well worth upgrading to the DVD set.

Audio

A Dolby 2.0 soundtrack is provided for both races. Phil Liggett does the commentary in both, with a touch of background music; I prefer the non-musical tracks that we get in later WCP productions, but at least here the music sounds pleasing and is always kept in proper balance with the rest of the soundtrack. The audio quality overall is solid; in the 1992 race, Liggett is occasionally a bit unclear, but this is due to him (rather atypically) mumbling rather than a problem with the sound. Overall, the sound is clear and offers a good listening experience.

Extras

There are no special features here, but the overall DVD design is well handled and makes for convenient viewing. The races are on separate DVDs, and in both cases the main menu is an attractive, non-spoiler montage of past Paris-Roubaix winners. The menu interface is easy to use, and each race is broken into three chapters.

Final thoughts

The "Queen of the Classics," Paris-Roubaix, is given the royal treatment in this remastered two-DVD set from World Cycling Productions. Both the 1992 race, with its "great escape," and the 1993 edition, with its non-stop action and nail-biting finish, are fantastic races that pack a lot of excitement into the 90 minutes of coverage for each race. If you're interested in bicycle racing and you haven't had a chance to see these great races yet, then now is most definitely the time to introduce yourself to Paris-Roubaix. Additionally, the excellent new transfer makes this DVD a must-buy for anyone who already owns these races on VHS; the dramatic improvement in image quality merits an upgrade. Highly recommended.